He died fighting for the latter's brother and governor of Iraq, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, against the pro-Alid ruler of Kufa, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, at the Battle of Harura in 686.
Muhammad was the son of al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, the leader of the Kinda tribe in Kufa, and succeeded him following his father's death in 661.
[3] Muhammad married Umm Amr, a daughter of the prominent South Arabian noble of Kufa, Sa'id ibn Qays al-Hamdani.
[5] Muhammad ultimately forced Ibn Aqil to surrender and agreed to send a letter on the latter's behalf notifying Husayn not to come to Kufa, where he was expecting significant support.
[1] In response to the suppression of the Arab nobility of Kufa by the pro-Alid leader al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi in 686, Muhammad, who at the time was residing in one of his fortresses near Qadisiyya, known as Tizanabadh, rallied to the Zubayrid governor of Basra, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr.